Monday, June 21, 2010

Winning Baseball: "Being Aggressive At The Plate."



Each and every week, I hear Coaches screaming from the third base box for their young hitters to, "Be Aggressive And Swing the Bat!"  But really, what does that mean?  (And remember, teen-age ears hear differently than we do, and may not understand exactly what you, as a Coach, want them to accomplish)...

Next time out there, do me a favor.  Rather than yelling "Be Aggressive!" to your hitters from a distance, explain to the boys (and girls) prior to the game that you would like to see them "Be Aggressive on the Fastball in the Zone."  And let them know you are going to track their performance, not their results.  In other words, you're not concerned with whether they get a hit or not.  You are more concerned with their approach.

With today's kids, just "Being Aggressive" is not enough.  Adding "on the fastball" to your direction helps narrow down the pitch you are expecting them to jump on, and "in the zone" encourages plate discipline and the first rule of hitting from Ted Williams  (always get a good ball to hit!)

This simple explanation of what you are really looking for from them at the plate will help you to better communicate the approach you would like to see (and as a result, help your team to hit the ball harder and help your hitters to become better as a result.) 

 








 

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